Mark 4:26-34. “The Great Raconteur”. Jumc 20120616 Fathers Day

4:26 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” 30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples. NRSV

It’s difficult to find good biblical examples of fathers. Noah, after the flood got drunk off his own vineyard and exposed himself to his children, Abraham ties up Issac and reads to sacrifice him to God, Isc had two sons Essa and Jacob and loved Essa more, Jacob loved Joseph best out of 13. Gideon had many wife’s and seventy son, David’s last request of his son was to kill his enemy, King Solomon had hundreds of wives and mistresses. Jesus only has his father for half his life time. Where can we find a godly father?

Cost to raise child rises to about $235,000 June 15, 2012|Associated Press
WASHINGTON – For $235,000, you could indulge in a shiny new Ferrari – or raise a child for 17 years.

A government report released Thursday found that a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about that much in child-related expenses from birth through age 17. That’s a 3.5 percent increase from 2010.

The report from the Agriculture Department’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion said housing is the single largest expense, averaging about $70,500, or 30 percent of the total cost.

Families living in the urban Northeast tend to have the highest child-rearing expenses, followed by those in the urban West and the urban Midwest. Those living in the urban South and rural areas face the lowest costs.

The US Department of Agriculture has issued the report every year since 1960, when it estimated the cost of raising a child was just over $25,000 for middle-income families. That would be $191,720 today when adjusted for inflation.

Housing was also the largest expense in raising a child back in 1960. But the cost of child care for young children – negligible 50 years ago – is now the second-largest expense as more moms work outside the home.

The report considers middle-income parents to be those with an income between $59,400 and $102,870. The cost per child decreases for a family with more children.

Tell me the stories of Jesus…
What child need to hear from their fathers:
Letters from day: 25% of men verbally tell their children “I love you” only 5% also write it.

Telling the story
Jesus uniquely used parables to teach the deep and powerful truths of the kingdom, of God, and life. The gift of e story,…

Dads, tell your kids about Jesus.
Don’t assume they will guess correctly from your actions, they see you too often or too frequently.
Start with Jesus’s stories…. Google them, “The kingdom of god is like…”

Fables have a lesson
Parables have the same point no matter the details do the story…all point to god

The French name is the great story teller is a raconteur, this is the main character of my own fathers stories, Messier Raconteur… Told stories from around the world because sharing stories kept him alive.

This fathers day, give the gifts, you be the story teller and share the faith, today and everyday.